In a briefing to the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) on January 12, 2012, Dr. Dave Cowen and Dr. Time Nyerges, co-chairs of the Innovative Strategies for Geospatial Programs and Partnerships Subcommittee, reiterated the “need to reconfigure, focus, reposition, empower and authorize the FGDC as the national lead for developing, managing, and assuring Geospatial Information Services for the Nation. These services are critical to support the development of information products required by the public sector, and form the basis for the Geospatial Platform and the implementation of A-16 Supplemental Guidance.”

The overarching recommendation of the subcommittee, Dr. Nyerges stated, was for “the establishment of a “leadership role” in the Executive Office of the President that would coordinate and direct the efforts of the federal geospatial enterprise, including choosing, directing and enabling the Managing Partner of the Geospatial Platform.” The Subcommittee’s DRAFT recommendations also encouraged the FGDC to:

“develop a comprehensive business plan to manage and operate the Geospatial Platform…”

“adopt operating formula funding and/or in-kind services strategy for the Geospatial Platform and for the purchase, production and dissemination of critical geospatial data…”

“[move] the [FGDC’s] administrative home to a higher level in the administration with substantial cross-government programmatic, budgetary and procurement authority.”

“develop [an] application to track common data interests” to “enhance efforts to eliminate redundant data creation and funding across all levels of government…”

From the Meeting Summary: “The National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) will defer final action on the Innovative Strategies paper until the April NGAC meeting. The Subcommittee will consider recent developments and feedback from Anne Castle, Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), and other NGAC members in developing the next version of the paper. The Subcommittee will work with FGDC staff to develop an interactive process to refine the recommendations.”

The next NGAC meeting is scheduled for April 17-18 at the American Institute of Architects Building in Washington, DC.

EDITOR’S NOTE – January 16, 2012: The NGAC is still discussing the DRAFT recommendations of a working group that will be included in an “innovative strategies report.” The report was discussed at the public meeting on January 12, and this conversation will be continued at subsequent meetings. For a copy of the agenda, meeting summary, and powerpoint slides, click here.

For PDF copies of CRS Reports on Geospatial Technology for the Nation and the upcoming GAO evaluation of federal investments in geospatial technology, see the links below.

Trading off this week’s highly-charged political theme of a potential federal government shutdown in the United States, it’s worth discussing the implications of a lack of federal mapping. Elimination of federal mapmaking is really out of the question as the federal government needs to map for so many policy and security reasons, yet there has been a steady reduction of the role of federal mapmaking for decades. What would the implications be if there weren’t a national mapping effort at all? …

At the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) has published a simple two-page best practices paper that will allow city and county governments to quickly assess their geospatial programs. CIOs and GIS managers can use this to explain that they are doing a good job and should keep their funding or that they have improvements to make and need more resources. For local governments that haven’t yet figured out why they need a geospatial program, there is also a flyer that lists many of the ways that local governments use geospatial technology to save money and provide better service.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has appointed 15 individuals to serve as members of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC), which provides recommendations on federal geospatial policy and management issues and advice on development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The NSDI promotes sharing of geospatial data throughout all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, and the academic community. The new and re-appointees for 3-year terms (2011 appointment list) are:

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Summary: John Moeller, a senior principal engineer with Northrop Grumman, provides his thoughts about the “future prospects for spatial data and associated technologies, the importance of easily accessible and usable spatial data, the value and economic ramifications of spatial data, legal and policy issues, and management and governance questions.” What do a community youth mapping project in Alexandria, Va., a Cape Cod Commission effort to map water wells, and a law enforcement agency’s use of satellite imagery to certify swimming pools have in common? Each is the subject of a recent newspaper article and while not unique on its own, when put together they illustrate key points about the current and future prospects for spatial data and associated technologies, the importance of easily accessible and usable spatial data, the value and economic ramifications of spatial data, legal and policy issues, and management and governance questions.

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In the United States, a lively discussion is emerging on the next generation of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, with a focus on its governance and coordination. Below are links to articles, reports and editorials on this topic:

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Dr. Lea Shanley is the founder and former co-Chair of the Federal Community of Practice on Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science, a vibrant community of 200 federal employees from more than 35 agencies. She is also a co-founding member of the Citizen Science Association. Dr. Shanley recently served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at NASA, where she helped to foster a culture of open innovation. Prior to this, she founded and directed the Commons Lab at the Wilson Center, served in the US Senate as a Congressional Science Fellow, and worked with local and tribal communities to develop GIS-based decision support systems for city planning, natural resource management, coastal management, and disaster response through the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog of links to relevant news, events, and reports, provided for educational purposes only. The opinions and views contained therein are those only of the authors of the original articles. These opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the editor of this blog or or associated organizations.